Compelling stories don’t land in your lap; they’re carefully researched and crafted. Gifted
storytellers have an astute eye for detail, paying attention to audience, setting, emotional effect,
angles and technique. From video to timelapse, these eight photographers have moved beyond
the traditional still image to incorporate motion into their vision for a story. Here’s their advice
about how to identify the most accurate and effective way to tell a story. Compiled by KATELYN PETERS

The elements that determine
when a story is told successfully
vary by medium. However,
there are a few things that have
to be present: clear perspective
and visual voice, technique
(composition, style, lighting) and
strong individual images that
come together as a whole. The
most challenging part is to find
a balance between your unique
visual voice and the needs of a
particular publication, whether
it’s for newspaper, magazine or
television. They all have their
own formats.

I encourage students and
aspiring visual storytellers
to study the technique,
history and style of as many
publications as possible. Once
you’ve absorbed as much as
you can, you can go out there
and develop your own voice.

ADRIANATERESALE TORNEYRENAEFFENDI

refendi.comBRITTAIN YNEWMANbrittainynewman.comCo-founder, Visura.co

I create a story by making a
portrait of a person in their
natural setting. I make sure
that the details are evocative.

For example, the tattoos on
the arms of one of my subjects
tells the viewer about the loss
of her father. These details
communicate something special
about the subject’s life, and
add to the emotional tonality
of the photograph. I think a
portrait can tell an entire story,
from facial expressions and
the surrounding environment.

When I portray daily life within
a family or a small community,
it often reflects a larger, more
global picture.

When beginning a story, it is
important to consider your
audience: What do you want
your final project to say about
you as an artist, and how do
you plan to communicate this
through still imagery, audio,
and video? At the most basic
level, the elements that make
up a story are beautiful lighting,
compelling subject matter and
interesting composition. If you
don’t have all of these elements,
it can make or break a story in
any format.

When I’m looking at multimedia,
I pay attention to how the
story is paced, how much time
has gone by, the transitions
the editor decided to use, and
how we go from character to
character, scene to scene.

MICHAELD. DAVISmichaelddavis.com

A visual storyteller must convey
their understanding, passion,
engagement, commitment
and capability for their topic.

At the same time, images must
have all of these qualities:
surprise, clarity, “newness”
and completeness.

I measure the success of a
project in a variety of ways. The
most important is whether the
approach and resulting work
achieved the full potential of the
narrative. I am continually asking
these questions: Is there more
work that should be done? Is
there more to the narrative?

The traditional form of a visual
narrative was to produce a set
of pictures of a person, place
or event, and then to select a
set of those images. This was
your story. Now it’s possible to
use more dynamic story forms,
utilizing any combination of the
following media: still images,
motion, AR/VR/XR, drone, motion
graphics, data visualization,
object representations, social
media and prints. Whatever
medium you choose, it should
express the most important
qualities and elicit responses
from viewers, as opposed to just
presenting information.